The present invention relates to an aqueous desoiling or degreasing composition which in particular is free of silicates, chelates and inorganic phosphates. More particularly, the present invention relates to a composition and method of desoiling or degreasing metal substrates which are sensitive to silicates, chelates and inorganic phosphates.
Detergents and degreasing compositions have long relied on inorganic phosphates and silicates in their formulas for providing advantageous emulsification of oils and greases and the like. While such compositions are clearly effective in degreasers or other types of detergents these compositions are environmentally undesirable and also are undesirable from the standpoint of certain metals which may be detrimentally affected by the presence of these substances. For instance, brass, zinc, white metals, and aluminum base metals are particularly susceptible to attack by phosphates and chelates. Additionally, some types of metals may also be detrimentally affected by the presence of silicates. Similarly, chelating agents are also undesirable both from an environmental standpoint and from an incompatibility to certain substrates standpoint. Thus. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,010,907; 3,031,408; 3,738,943; 3,741,913; 4,137,190; 4,214,915; 4,521,332; 4,539,134; and 4,857,114 all disclose various cleaning compositions which include silicates, inorganic phosphates and/or chelates in their compositions, which are undesirable as set forth above. In addition, these patents do not recite a salt of a polymerized naphthalene sulfonic acid dispersing agent which is critical in the building of silicate chelate and phosphate free de-greasing compositions of the present invention.
Thus, it is a goal in the present invention to provide a silicate, chelate and inorganic phosphate-free degreasing composition which will be effective in dilute quantities to decrease heavy soils from machine parts.
In the remainder of the specification all percentages are by weight unless otherwise recited.